BlueLinx adds new engineered lumber products to software solution

BlueLinx has announced that its onCENTER Engineered Lumber products are now included in the product library of MiTek’s Sapphire Structure software.

With version 7.3.5 Service Pack 1, released June 28, 2012, users of Sapphire Structure can now specify onCENTER BLI Joists, onCENTER LVL and onCENTER Rim Board, and the MiTek Single Member Design Engine will analyze each member using material properties provided by BlueLinx.

"This is great news for our customers who design trussed roofs using MiTek Sapphire software," said Richard Graham, BlueLinx engineered lumber national engineering manager, "as they can now design onCENTER Engineered Lumber floors and headers without switching to another software program. The entire process will be streamlined, and the risk of errors will be reduced."

For BlueLinx customers not using MiTek software, the BlueLinx DOMA Studio offering includes DOMA Builder, a whole-house add-on to AutoCAD Architecture; DOMA Framer, a standalone CAD/Design package for roof and floor design; DOMA Sizer, a single-member design program; and DOMA Optimizer, a cutting optimizer to reduce waste when cutting orders from stock.

KB Home acquires land in California

KB Home has acquired land within the Elworthy Ranch property in the town of Danville, Calif. Development of the site will begin soon, and the home builder expects groundbreaking on new model homes before the end of the year. KB Home plans to construct 84 Built to Order single-family homes in the new community, Quail Ridge.

"We are pleased to have the opportunity to once again offer KB Home’s signature Built to Order home designs in one of the Bay Area’s most sought-after submarkets," said Chris Apostolopoulos, president of KB Home’s Bay Area division. "Danville is an incredibly scenic and thriving community, and we are proud to add Quail Ridge to our line-up of new home communities in the East Bay."

KB Home’s new acquisition, which is on the Las Trampas Ridge overlooking the San Ramon Valley, is adjacent to 179 acres of open space in the Elworthy Ranch property.

Home designs available at Quail Ridge will include up to four bedrooms and three baths. The two-story floor plans will range in size from about 1,700 sq. ft. to 2,200 sq. ft. Each new KB home will be Built to Order, which means home buyers will choose their home site and floor plan.

All new KB homes in the Bay Area, including those that will be built at Quail Ridge, are Energy Star-qualified, GreenPoint Rated and come with the builder’s proprietary Energy Performance Guide (EPG). The KB Home EPG provides buyers with an estimate of monthly energy costs for the home as designed and an estimate of monthly energy cost savings compared with a typical resale home.

ABC Supply employee rescues abused puppy

It’s been more than two weeks since Al Stewart, an ABC Supply employee in Doraville, Ga., saw a puppy tossed out of a moving car in front of his workplace. The Daschund-Chihuahua mix was approximately nine weeks old, and before Stewart could get to it, the puppy was hit by a car.

“It happened right as Al was pulling into the parking lot,” reassistant store manager Trey Couch told Home Channel News. “The dog just went flying out of the [vehicle’s] door.”

Stewart brought the badly injured puppy into the store, and another employee, Ken Hayes, called his wife. Jennifer Hayes rushed the dog to a veterinary hospital and agreed to pay for surgery to fix its leg. The bill came to more than $1,400, according to Couch.

That’s when the fundraising began, starting with a Facebook page and then a website called Chipin.com. Approximately $2,100 was collected for the puppy, who is recovering nicely.

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